A رمز — which in Urdu may be understood as a hidden signal, a secret of the heart, or an allusion — in Punjabi as “ramzān yār diyān” (the beloved’s secrets) and “ramzān ishq diyān” (the secrets of love) has remained a subject of classical poets. The President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, is a very deep individual and a master player of political chess. It is because of his successful political moves that the Pakistan Peoples Party has remained in power in the province of Sindh for 16 continuous years. In the present federal setup as well, he holds constitutional office. The responsibility for sin and virtue rests upon the PML-N, yet in constitutional governance Asif Zardari and his party are also stakeholders.

Zardari is famous as a friend of friends, but if someone tries to outsmart him, he is equally skilled at escorting that person all the way home. This humble journalist has known him personally since 1988 and, through continuous meetings, has tried to assess him. The layers of his personality are layered upon layers; it is very difficult to unfold them, yet as a humble student of politics I keep trying to understand his political رمز (codes).

When the issue of عمران’s “Ain” (eye) crossed limits, illness set politics on fire. The strategy of the “Noon” (PML-N) was to cool the matter down and keep it low-profile. Attaullah Tarar, Rana Sanaullah, and federal ministers handled the matter through their statements. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif remained mysteriously silent, and his elder brother Nawaz Sharif lives in a world apart from this one; thus, only someone with access could have obtained his position, so silence prevailed from that side as well.

In such circumstances, President Asif Zardari came forward openly. By comparing Imran’s illness with his own imprisonments, he answered the narrative of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and deliberately diverted the artillery of “Insafi” propaganda away from the Noon and toward himself. The question is: why did Zardari do this? What is hidden inside this move or رمز, and what results will emerge from it?

Asif Ali Zardari perhaps sensed that the top leadership of the Noon, by keeping themselves distant from this issue, was committing the same political mistake they had made earlier — responding to Imran’s narrative by focusing on governance instead of politics. This caused the burden of the “Imran narrative” to fall upon the non-political establishment, and the Noon has shown a clear deficiency and vacuum in sharing that burden effectively. By giving this forceful statement, the President signaled that we have the courage to shoulder the burden of opposition alongside you and to offer our shoulder.

Whether anyone accepts it or not, before the 2024 elections, when the planning for the Noon’s rule was underway, it was initially decided that exclusive power would be given to the Noon and that the establishment would provide full support to make this government and politics successful. The goal was to turn the country into a powerful economic giant. It was also decided that the Pakistan Peoples Party would not be included in power, because the economic policies of the PPP and the Noon are contradictory: the Noon favors privatization, while the PPP has clear reservations about it. Another matter — not stated openly but whispered from ear to ear — was that PPP governments and individuals are corrupt, and the Noon did not wish to bear that burden.

According to this plan, the PPP was not to be given government in Sindh either; rather, a government was to be formed there by combining the PPP’s opponents. Under this scheme, when the caretaker government of Sindh was formed, the provincial interior minister was appointed from a personality who openly opposed the PPP and created scandals against them. The Mehrs, Sardars, Jatois, and the Pagara family were linked with nationalists to create an alliance.

The Abbasi family of Larkana, former partners of the PPP, were fitted into this arrangement. The “khichri” was ready. At that moment, Asif Zardari took out his magic wand and first saddled the political horses opposing him in rural Sindh. The Mehrs and every potentially winning horse were shown dreams of green pastures; even the Pagara family was given a highly respectful offer. Except for the Jatoi and Pagaro families, the Shirazis, Mehrs, and other big names fell under Zardari’s spell. Then Zardari carried out effective lobbying in the Rawalpindi-Islamabad circles and also presented the flaws of Sheikh Hasina’s Bangladesh model.

However, the results of the 2024 elections were such a surprise that they destroyed the “Bangladesh model” — the program of one-party dominance. In the new realities, the Noon had no option but to form a coalition government with the PPP and to hand Sindh to the PPP. Thus, the PPP did not receive the current power like sweet rice pudding; they picked grains of lentils out of the khichri. A sub-intelligence chief had given the Noon the impression that the elections would be halwa for them — they would eat it alone and the PPP would not share in it — but the elections proved to be bitter instead of sweet halwa. These unexpected results compelled the Noon to form a coalition government with the PPP.

The federal government was formed, and Asif Zardari assumed the office of President of Pakistan. Then he was asked to sacrifice Sindh’s water regarding canals and dams. No matter how much he raises the slogan of “Pakistan Khappay” (Long live Pakistan), he cannot survive in Sindh’s politics by giving away Sindh’s water. What was feared happened: protests and turmoil erupted across interior Sindh over the issue of new canals. The pressure of these demonstrations became so intense that the canal proposal has been consigned to cold storage. When President Asif Zardari formally opposed these canals in his address to Parliament, like the Kalabagh Dam, this project too was buried.

Meanwhile, whispers began that the opposition to the canals was itself orchestrated by the PPP and its leadership. It was also said that the President of Pakistan wrote a letter to a country beyond the Himalayas contrary to state policy, which could anger a superpower; therefore, the letter was stopped. Allegations were also made that Zardari is not active — he sleeps during the day and stays awake at night. Continuous propaganda was carried out against the Sindh government that there is massive corruption there, and that in Sindh a parallel system — called “the system” — operates, which has direct access to Asif Zardari.

Naturally, the PPP completely denies these allegations. Rather, they claim that health, education, and their road network are better than Punjab and the rest of the country, and they reasonably argue that continuous electoral victories are proof that they are the most favored by the Sindhi public and are doing the best work.

Asif Zardari is not so simple as to speak without reason, nor so foolish as to become food for crocodiles. If one understands even a little of his رموز (codes), his recent anti-Insafi statement was made to relieve the pressure upon himself and his party. Where he saw weakness in the Noon, he stepped ahead of Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif and stood shoulder to shoulder with the establishment.

Reading human beings is the most difficult task. It is possible that this interpretation of the رمز is correct — or entirely wrong. Even if it is wrong, what of it? Interpretation and analysis are the journalist’s right.